University of California President Janet Napolitano issued the following statement today (April 3):
The University of California has lost one of its most passionate, caring, and effective advocates with the passing of UC Regent Bonnie Reiss. She worked tirelessly on behalf of this institution that she so loved. Our students, faculty, and staff — both current and those to come — have benefitted from Bonnie’s efforts to improve policies that combat sexual harassment and sexual assault, and her work to ensure that California’s public research university maintains its academic excellence while remaining accessible to our state’s students.
One of Bonnie’s biggest passions was working to mitigate the effects of global climate change, which is why I take pleasure in renaming UC’s Carbon Neutrality Student Fellowship Program the Bonnie Reiss Carbon Neutrality Student Fellows Program. These accomplished and extremely promising UC graduate and undergraduate students will now be known as Reiss Fellows. Their work will become part of Bonnie’s long and distinguished legacy. The University of California, and I personally, will deeply miss her.